Elbit IronVision Tested On Challenger 2 Streetfighter II Tank

The Elbit System’s IronVision helmet-mounted battlefield situational awareness system has been tested on a modified Challenger 2 Streetfighter II for the first time. The trials were conducted in early December 2019 and began with familiarisation for the crew at the UK’s Copehill Down urban operations facility on Salisbury Plain, before a demonstration on 5 December in the presence of senior officials, including representatives of the Field Army and the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).

The British Army has revealed details of the Streetfighter II upgrade to the Challenger 2 tank, featuring anti-tank Brimstone missiles, an enhanced camera suite and Elbit System’s IronVision system. The upgrade, which delivers an urbanised Challenger 2 variant, was developed by the Royal Tank Regiment to meet soldiers’ needs and identifies and fills the capability gap between the British Army’s forces and adversaries in urban combat. The upgrade was developed by the Royal Tank Regiment to meet soldiers’ needs and identifies and fills the capability gap between the British Army’s forces and adversaries in urban combat.

Elbit's IronVision elmet-mounted battlefield situational awareness system. Photo Elbit Systems UK. — Elbit’s IronVision elmet-mounted battlefield situational awareness system. Photo Elbit Systems UK.

Elbit Systems, the Israeli firm whose Helmet Mounted System (HMS) is used on helicopters and fighters worldwide, including the new F-35, is debuting a similar sensor-fused system that allows tank commanders to essentially see through the walls of their armored vehicles. Called IronVision, the vehicle-adapted HMS provides “protective glass walls” for tank or armored fighting vehicle crews who may need to operate in so-called closed-hatch mode when maneuvering in high-threat areas.

IronVision displays 360-degree, high-resolution imagery from data collected from digital sources in and around the vehicle. Imagery is projected in full color to the wearer’s visor and is of a fidelity high enough to track individual commandos crawling within meters to enemy vehicles travelling up to 300 meters away.The helmet system, which the firm adapted from technologies developed for airborne platforms, lets wearers “see through” the armor of their vehicle to locate, identify, track and engage enemy forces and threats.